First match in charge was a statement of traditional Old Trafford virtues -
belief, swagger and above all width as Norwich were sent on their way after
a 4-0 rout

Even from the dugout, Ryan Giggs is still tearing teams apart. After 962 appearances and 25 major trophies, Giggs marked his first game in temporary charge of Manchester United by restoring some of their traditional strengths: belief, tempo, boldness and, above all, meaningful width.

Standing a yard from the touchline, smartly suited and totally composed, waving occasionally to his adoring flock, Giggs looked every inch the elegant rescue act for his club, just what the boardroom ordered. As Wayne Rooney unintentionally alluded to afterwards, the decision on David Moyes’s long-term successor was “down to the board” but the 40-year-old with the grey flecks possessed “all the credentials to be the next boss”.

It does not sound like the boardroom will listen to the dressing-room or to those in the stands who crave faith being placed in the inexperienced Giggs. United cannot afford a decision based on sentiment. It has to be made with cold detachment.

Yet those who have long believed Giggs will manage United one day will not have been surprised by how events unfolded against Norwich City. Giggs has the toughness to leave out friends, he has an understanding of the club’s playing ethos and an understanding of the game, influencing this match with one substitution in particular, sending on Juan Mata, who promptly scored twice.

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Afterwards Giggs spoke only of focusing only on the next game, Sunderland on May 3, avoiding talk of whether he coveted the position long-term. Louis van Gaal is expected to arrive after the World Cup, bringing Patrick Kluivert with him as his No 2. It would be a travesty and an insult if Giggs and United’s class of ’92 were consigned to history.

The most logical response would be to ensure Giggs’s continued employment as a coach, assisting Van Gaal, providing that link to the dressing-room and the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson as well as giving him a road-map and compass on the journey to being No1. Giggs has to be Van Gaal’s assistant, not Kluivert. When negotiations intensify with Van Gaal, United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has to be strong on this.

Old Trafford wrapped Giggs in a warm embrace, and any demotion under Van Gaal will not be accepted lightly by those who worship their No 11. They loved what they saw, particularly the sight of goals derived from out wide. It was not simply the frequency of crosses, as United actually set a record for balls in from the flanks at Fulham under Moyes. It was the quality of the delivery here that impressed. Antonio Valencia particularly looked revitalised. The Ecuadorian had marched from the team coach into Old Trafford alongside Giggs and it seemed almost a statement of intent. Width mattered.

It was also the constant effort from the players, a reality that further highlighted their occasional supineness during the brief Moyes era and their hunger to play for Giggs. The match-day programme carried an advertisement from a sponsor that captured the Giggs credo: “Fortune doesn’t favour those who play it safe. It favours the brave.” It sounded like a mission statement from the interim manager.

The triumphalism sweeping Old Trafford at the final whistle needs placing in some perspective. Victory came at the expense of only Norwich City, not Manchester City, but it still felt special to United fans, still felt that they were re-engaging with more confident times. They flocked into Old Trafford in their special Giggs scarves, taking pictures of the huge picture of the Welshman outside the Stretford End and reading the programme celebrating his temporary promotion. “THE STORY CONTINUES” shouted the front-page headline, adding “it’s another landmark day in the career of Ryan Giggs, who takes charge as interim manager for the first time today.”

Inside Old Trafford, the atmosphere had almost a testimonial feel. Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart, a song long reworked in Giggs’s honour, blasted out as kick-off loomed. His players emerged first and the anticipation built. It was almost like the wait for a revered pugilist to enter. As what the team sheet called the “player/caretaker manager” finally appeared, Old Trafford stood in powerful, passionate salute.

Chants of “Ryan Giggs’s red-and-white army” tumbled from the Stretford End as he strode down the touchline, pausing to collect a card from the mascot, Fred the Red. He applauded the fans, shook Neil Adams’s hand and settled into a seat that had proved too uncomfortable for an experienced manager in Moyes, that he is surely just keeping warm for Van Gaal.

There was little mention of Moyes in the programme, barring a reprinting of the club’s short statement about his dismissal and a far classier “thank you” from Giggs and Paddy Crerand. Otherwise, the airbrushing had begun. The club were not hanging around, even accelerating their season-ticket promotion campaign on the back of the feelgood factor engendered by Giggs’s presence.

Giggs had called on his players to show boldness, a command echoed by the Stretford End which was chanting “attack, attack, attack” within 20 seconds, and which his players responded to increasingly. The new manager went slightly old-school, selecting two centre-forwards in Danny Welbeck and Rooney in a 4-4-2 system. Valencia raced down the right. The full-backs, Phil Jones and Patrice Evra, pushed up. The handbrake was off.

Five minutes in and the fans were beseeching Giggs for a wave and he duly obliged. He was sitting in the dugout with Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes to his left and Phil Neville and Chris Woods in the row in front. Everyone awaits with fascination, arguably trepidation, future seating arrangements if Van Gaal arrives.

The calmest man around was the main man. Giggs rose from his seat occasionally, encouraging Welbeck, signalling for the back four to push up. For so many years such a fluid force down the touchlines, here Giggs stood on the other side of the white line, arms folded or hands in pockets, looking, analysing, improving, making Old Trafford dream again.

Giggs’s emotional bond with the Theatre of Dreams, his sporting home for 23 years, was captured powerfully in his programme notes underneath the words “A Word From The Boss”.

“I’ve supported United all my life and I’ve been connected with the club since I was at school,’’ he wrote. “It’s the rock upon which my life has been built and I can promise you that I will give this job all I can in the last four games of the season.”

And he started well. The focus was on crosses. Even the Maltese paid a flying visit. A plane towing a message about Moyes provided by “Malta FF” flew over Old Trafford shortly before Rooney scored his first. There was only a momentary celebration of Rooney’s penalty by Giggs, otherwise it was focusing on instructing, keeping in mind the Pro-licence teaching of being aware of vulnerability in such moments of exultation.

He handled the spotlight well. After the break, Giggs walked back out with Woods, whose good work with David de Gea ensured he was not jettisoned along with Moyes. Giggs signed autographs, shook a fan’s hand and sat back down. Always in control.

He had called for an even higher tempo and his players again responded. Rooney drilled in a second, and then Giggs withdrew Welbeck and sent on Mata for what proved an inspired substitution, the Spaniard twice finishing off moves that originated from out wide. Width is back as a significant avenue of attack at Old Trafford. Giggs, United’s most garlanded winger, ensured that.